Manufacturing Digital

The worldwide stock of operational industrial robots has reached a record 5 million units, according to industry reporting. The milestone underlines the continued rapid adoption of automation in manufacturing, driven by labour shortages, falling robot costs and rising demand across automotive, electronics and logistics sectors. Analysts say the figure reflects sustained double-digit annual installations, with Asia accounting for the largest share of the installed base.

The reporting obligations under the EU Cyber Resilience Act take effect in September 2026, requiring manufacturers of products with digital elements to notify authorities of actively exploited vulnerabilities and security incidents. Companies selling connected hardware and software in the EU are preparing compliance processes ahead of the deadline, with legal commentators flagging the timeline for firms still assessing their obligations.

Airbus is shifting roughly 900 business-critical applications, including ERP, manufacturing execution and product lifecycle management systems, from Amazon Web Services to the French cloud provider Scaleway. The migration covers the systems used to design, build and sell aircraft, making it one of the larger examples of a European company repatriating core workloads from US hyperscalers to a European provider.

The European Commission has published 2026 guidance on the Cyber Resilience Act, and law firms and manufacturers are working through what it means in practice. The Act requires products with digital elements sold in the EU to meet cybersecurity and vulnerability-reporting standards. Companies are assessing compliance deadlines, technical obligations and the penalties for products that fall short.

A new Forbes interview profiles Goodyear chief information officer Raman Mehta, who describes how speed has become a central pillar of the tire maker's technology strategy. Mehta explains how the company is structuring its IT operations to move faster in delivering digital capabilities to the business.

Satellite manufacturer Astro Digital is planning to go public through a SPAC merger, with proceeds earmarked for expanding its satellite production capacity and growing its defense business. The move would give the smallsat maker new capital as demand rises for rapid satellite manufacturing and defense-related space services.

Two of Vienna's leading theatres, Die Josefstadt and the Kammerspiele, have adopted Solid State Logic's System T mixing platform for flexible theatre production. The installation gives the historic venues a modern digital audio setup capable of handling a wide range of live drama productions. The move is being noted as a sign that broadcast-grade digital consoles are spreading into traditional spoken theatre.

Manufacturing Digital has published a ranked list of the top 10 humanoid robots, highlighting the machines leading the field in robotics development. The roundup comes as companies worldwide race to deploy humanoid robots in manufacturing, logistics and service roles, with advances in AI driving rapid progress.

A new legal analysis argues that regulators and companies must now navigate compliance challenges across food-as-medicine programmes, digital health tools and medical devices together, rather than separately. The piece highlights how nutrition-based interventions, apps and connected devices increasingly blur traditional boundaries between food, wellness and regulated healthcare, raising enforcement and oversight questions for providers, manufacturers and payers as these converging products expand.

3D printing and precision-fit technology that has reshaped the sneaker market is now being applied to work boots. Manufacturers are adapting the same digital fitting and cushioning innovations used in athletic footwear to make protective work boots more comfortable for people who spend long hours on their feet. The move signals a broader push to bring everyday consumer tech into industrial and occupational gear.

Chinese drone and camera maker DJI has reportedly overtaken all Japanese manufacturers combined in digital camera sales, according to a report by photography outlet PetaPixel. The claim marks a striking shift in an industry long dominated by Japanese brands such as Canon, Sony and Nikon, and highlights how drone-based and gimbal camera products have grown into a major force in the camera market.